


Phoenix

by LouderthanSilence



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Detective Sasuke, M/M, Naruto is Just Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, briefly mentioned Sakura/Sasuke, disaster adults, divorced Sakura and sasuke, sarada and boruto mention, theyre adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27212545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouderthanSilence/pseuds/LouderthanSilence
Summary: Sasuke’s tired. You can see it on his face, in his movements, in the way he stands, his exhaustion is bone deep. It’s as if his very soul is tired and perhaps it is.He’s sitting across from his wife well soon to be ex wife, and he’s only half listening as she prattles on and on about shared custody or something and Sasuke wants to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about it because he doesn’t want it.He wants to tell her that he doesn’t mind never seeing his daughter again, as awful as it sounds. He wants to tell her that he doesn’t like looking at his daughter and it’s not that she’s done anything wrong it’s just that she serves as a painful reminder that he isn’t fit to be a father. Fathers love their children unconditionally but Sasukes failed at loving everyone he’s ever tried to.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 96





	Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! So This has been in my WIP for quite a while and I just decided I might as well post it   
> There’s supposed to be a second part but I haven’t been able to find the motivation to write it 😭

Sasuke’s tired. You can see it on his face, in his movements, in the way he stands, his exhaustion is bone deep. It’s as if his very soul is tired and perhaps it is. 

He’s sitting across from his wife  _ well soon to be ex wife,  _ and he’s only half listening as she prattles on and on about  _ shared custody  _ or something and Sasuke wants to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about it because  _ he doesn’t want it.  _

He wants to tell her that he doesn’t mind never seeing his daughter again, as awful as it sounds. He wants to tell her that he doesn’t like looking at his daughter and it’s not that  _ she’s done anything wrong _ it’s just that she serves as a painful reminder that he isn’t fit to be a father.  _ Fathers love their children unconditionally but Sasukes failed at loving everyone he’s ever tried to.  _

He thinks that he himself is incapable of love,  _ or so Sakura, his ex wife has said.  _

_ “You’re not the same man I married” she says and  _ Sasuke wants to say “ _ I know. But I can’t remember the man I was before. I don’t know who I am anymore and I’m sorry”  _ but he knows that voicing any of this will not help anything so he doesn’t. He just continues to stare at and occasionally nod along to everything Sakura is saying. 

It’s well past noon when they are both dismissed from the lawyers office and Sasuke’s signed his name so many times that it’s all starting to blur together. 

He follows Sakura out of the office and rides with her down in the elevator. 

“I think this is the best choice for Sarada” she says and he just nods along mutely. 

When they reach the parking garage, she suddenly pulls him into a hug and Sasuke just stands there and hesitantly hugs her back but he lets go too soon and it’s awkward because  _ she’s _ still holding on. 

She smiles up at him but he doesn’t think it looks quite right on her face. 

“Take care of yourself” she says and pats him on the shoulder. Sasuke nods again wordlessly. 

He wants to say that he doesn’t know if he  _ can _ but he’s  _ never really learned how to use his words but even so he guesses even if he did, there just wasn’t anything worth saying at this point.  _

Sakura gets into her car and Sasuke’s just left standing there alone outside of his car in the parking garage. 

He stares at the spot where Sakura’s car was until someone else honks their horn at him, jolting him back to the present. 

He feels awfully awkward as he slowly climbs into his car. He doesn’t crank it, just sits there in the slightly suffocating heat of his car staring at the dashboard. 

By the time he realizes it the sun has already gone down so with a quiet sigh, Sasuke turns the key in the ignition of the car and starts it up

Briefly he wonders if he just left the car running, if it would eventually give him carbon monoxide poisoning, but then he shakes his head and puts the car in reverse. He doesn’t even turn the radio on as he pulls out of the parking garage. 

Oddly enough, Sasuke doesn’t feel like heading back home,  _ or his office as he had so many nights,  _ instead, he finds himself pulling up outside a bar. Its seedy and unsafe looking but Sasuke’s tired and there are few cars outside so he takes a deep breath, climbs out of his car and after checking to make sure the doors are locked, he makes his way inside. 

He scans the building as he steps through the door.  _ It is definitely seedy,  _ but there are only about 5 people inside, including the bartender, so it gets Sasuke’s gold star of approval. 

He makes his way over to the bar, sliding into the farthest stool from the door.

The bartender is an uppity little thing, all smiles and soft corners, with dark brown hair hanging over her right eye and she doesn’t talk so much as chirp. She’s over and in front of him within seconds of him sitting down and she smiles affectionately as she asks him what he’s having tonight. 

Sasuke orders a rum and coke. 

He watches as she makes his drink. 

She’s quick, he’ll give her that. 

He continues to watch with tired eyes as she sets the glass down in front of him. 

“There yah go love! Just gimme a holler if yah need anythin’ else.” She’s got a southern drawl that tells Sasuke she isn’t from around here and for a second, it makes his chest hurt because the accent sounds so familiar yet foreign at the same time. 

He opens his mouth to ask her where she’s from but when he lifts his eyes off his drink, she’s already gone, back across the bar,  _ probably  _ to be drunkenly flirted with while she laughs and  _ double checks that the pepper spray that hangs off her keys is still in her pocket _ . 

Sasuke shakes his head and takes a small sip of his drink. 

Sasuke hates alcohol. Everything about it. 

He hates the way it burns and makes his head go fuzzy and his face warm. He hates the smell of it and the way it makes him slightly nauseous to smell it but nevertheless he chokes it down. 

_ It’s good for forgetting, and he hopes that if he drinks enough, he’ll forget everything. Even his own name.  _

By the time Sasuke’s almost finished with his second Rum and Coke of the night, business has picked up and the stools at the bar are almost fully occupied so he orders a third drink and takes it over to sit in a booth in the far corner of the bar. 

The music has picked up as well, no longer the sad country that was playing when he walked in but an upbeat hip hop song. 

He’s halfway through this drink when he sees him. 

Him being a tall blonde that enters with his elbow linked with a tall blond woman.

He’s interesting looking enough and Sasuke finds himself watching the two blondes as they slide into the booth in front of Sasuke. The woman has her back to him but the man is sitting facing him and Sasuke drinks in his appearance. 

His bright blond hair sits atop his head in a mess of spikes, tied back with a bright orange headband. 

Sasuke’s too far away to tell what color his eyes are but he guesses they’re blue with the way the light is reflecting off of them. 

The most intriguing part of the stranger is the scars on his face. He has 3 identical lines on either side of his face, much like whiskers and Sasuke wonders what could’ve caused them. 

None of his theories are very happy ones so he shoves them down with another sip of his drink. 

For a while, Sasuke just sits back and watches the two blonds converse. The man is one of the most expressive people he’s ever seen and Sasuke soon finds himself enraptured by the way he waves his hands around as he talks and how his eyes wrinkle when he laughs. 

“Can I getcha another ‘un Love?” The bartender is back and chipper as ever and she smiles openly at him as he nods. 

She swipes up his cup and then she’s onto the booth in front of his. 

Sasuke strains his ears but he’s too far away to really make out anything they’re saying and he feels kinda creepy about trying so he directs his attention elsewhere. 

She’s back before he knows it and there’s a new drink in front of him. 

A few sips into his fourth drink of the night and Sasuke’s starting to feel the effects of the first 3. 

His body is pleasantly warm and he lets himself sink into that feeling as he rests his chin on his hand and watches the blond man. 

At some point Sasuke finishes the fourth drink and is onto his fifth. He knows that he’s entering dangerous territory now but he’s worried that if he stands he will stumble. 

His phone, which had been lying face up on the table since he sat down suddenly vibrates and the screen lights up. 

“ _ Juugo”  _ flashes across the screen and he feels a small stab of guilt, mainly because he knows that Juugo is just being a good friend and worrying about Sasuke and probably wondering when he’s coming home tonight but Sasuke can’t help but feel like he doesn’t deserve it so he just watches it ring. 

_ Maybe if he ignores his calls long enough, Juugo will just lock him outside and he can sleep in his freezing car all night and freeze to death.  _

Sasuke knows that even if he tells Juugo that  _ no he’s not coming home,  _ Juugo still wouldn’t lock the door so it’s a hopeless endeavor really and the guilt is so bad that by the time the “missed call” notification appears, Sasuke’s picking up his phone and calling him back. 

“Sasuke?” Juugo picks up on the first ring because  _ of course he does,  _ and Sasuke swallows hard. 

“Are you at a bar?” Juugo askes and Sasuke tightens his grip around his phone. 

“Yes” Sasuke replies. 

“Have you been drinking?” Is Juugo’s next question and it comes out more like a sigh than anything else and Sasuke actually winces. 

“No” he lies and for a few tense seconds neither of them say anything. 

“Yes” Sasuke sighs quietly. Juugo doesn’t respond and for a second Sasuke wonders if he actually heard him at all. 

“Just don’t drive home. Call a cab or text me and I’ll come get you” Juugo says quietly and Sasuke swallows hard again. 

“Okay” he says but they both know that Sasuke won’t text Juugo, nor will he end up calling a cab. 

He’ll probably stumble out to his car and either sleep there or maybe he’ll take the bus or sleep on a park bench or something. 

_ It wouldn’t be the first and Sasuke feels like it won’t be the last.  _

“Okay. I guess I’ll let you go then. Be careful though Sasuke” Juugo’s voice is quiet and concerned and laced with something that makes Sasuke feel nauseous  _ or maybe it’s just all the rum.  _

“Okay. Bye” Sasuke says into the phone almost robotically before he ends the call and drops his phone back down onto the table. His head is pounding and he leans forward, puts his head in his hands and groans. 

“Do you mind if I sit here?” A voice rouses Sasuke from his half dead state and he blinks up at the offender. 

Then, he swallows hard because  _ it’s the blond.  _

“Sure.” Sasuke responds because he doesn’t know what else to say. The blond shoots him a smile and wastes no time dropping himself into the seat across from Sasuke. 

“Thanks man! My friend left me here because I didn’t feel like leaving just yet. And it was getting busy so,” he swishes whatever's in his cup around and takes a sip. 

“Figured I wouldn’t waste a whole booth by sitting by myself” he finishes with a grin. 

Then he’s crossing his arms and leaning onto the table to look up at Sasuke who’s feeling a little more than awkward at this point. 

“Anyways, what’s a man like you doing in a place like this?” The blond asked leaning forward. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 

“A man like me?” He echoed. Sasuke took another sip of his drink and waited for him to elaborate. 

“You know, good looking, expensive clothes,” the blond gestured to what Sasuke was wearing before continuing, “not to mention married. just makes me wonder what you’re doing in this poor excuse of a bar at 11pm on a Thursday night” he finished with a laugh. Sasuke blinked owlishly. His cheeks felt warmer now, be it from the compliment or the alcohol he’s not sure

“What makes you think I’m married?” Sasuke asks, defensive.  _ He didn’t like when others made deductions about him.  _ The blond laughs loudly. 

“Honestly with being as good looking as you are id be shocked if you weren’t married,” he says picking his cup back up. He shoots Sasuke a cocky grin before downing the rest of his drink. 

Sasuke opens his mouth to tell him that he is in fact  _ not married. Not anymore _ but then the blond leans further forward getting so close that Sasuke can smell the alcohol on his breath,  _ tequila  _ if he had to guess

“But it was the ring on your finger that gave you away” he responds. Sasuke blinks down at his hand. Oh,  _ oh.  _

Carefully, Sasuke reaches down and grips the ring on his finger, slowly wiggling it off. He sets it down on the table with a quiet clink. 

“Sorry to disappoint but you’re wrong. newly divorced. As of today actually.” He says monotonously. He sucks down the rest of his drink and sets it down onto the table, “not that it’s really any of your business” he adds on. 

The blond pales and immediately scoots all the way back in his seat. He scratches at his face. 

“Ah, Sorry. My bad. I don’t have a sense of boundaries or at least that’s what all my  _ friends _ say” he says. He’s nervous now, Sasuke can tell by the way his eyes are darting around and won’t meet his own. 

“But uh. If it makes you feel better, me too. Uh” the blond holds up his left hand showing Sasuke. There isn’t a ring on his finger but there is a very distinct tan line around his ring finger that indicates he wore a ring, at least up until recently. 

“Yeah. It’s not super recent but about a month or so ago me and my wife got a divorce” he says. Sasuke blinks. 

“Okay.” He says, because he can’t really think of anything to say. Then,

“I’m sorry?” Sasuke tries, but it comes out more like a question than anything and he’s embarrassed but the blond stranger just waves his arms around and laughs. 

“No no it’s okay. It was a mutual thing. Well mostly mutual. Well. It hit me outta left field but everything’s cool now. I get to see my kids on most weekends and stuff and last weekend we ended up going to Chuck E Cheese’s for one of our sons friends birthday parties and oh gosh I’m rambling. Feel free to tell me to shut up at any time” The blonds laughing nervously now. 

“It’s fine. Ramble all you want” Sasuke replies, mainly because he’s enjoying just watching him talk. 

“Ah Okay. If you’re sure. Don’t forget you can tell me to fuck off at anytime” He says before launching back into his epic tale about how his ex-wife had brought her new boyfriend,  _ the man he’d walked in on her cheating on him with,  _ and how it hadn’t been as awkward as he was thinking it would be and. Sasuke found himself captivated by the man in front of him, enjoying watching the way his eyes lit up. 

Then, those cerulean eyes were on him and he seemed to be waiting for something and  _ oh. Oh  _ he’d asked Sasuke a question. 

“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? I zoned out for a second at the end” Sasuke said. The blond smiled sheepishly and scratched at his face.  _ A nervous habit Sasuke supposes.  _

_ “ _ Ah. I just asked if you had any kids” Sasuke opened his mouth to answer the question but then the bartender appeared and asked if they would like another drink. 

“Ah yeah I’ll take another one yeah, you?” Sasuke nodded along and waited until the bartender was gone to answer the man’s question. 

“I have one.” He said and the blond looked puzzled and cocked his head to the side. Sasuke thought he looked adorable like that. 

“Kids. I have 1. A daughter” Sasuke repeated, slightly slower this time. The blond’s face lit up. 

“Oh! How old is she? What’s her name? Does she look like you?” He instantly launched into a series of questions, quickly overwhelming Sasuke. 

As if sensing his discomfort, the blond reeled back. 

“Sorry sorry. I get excited. You don’t have to answer all of those. I’m just being nosy” he said. Sasuke shook his head. 

“No. It’s fine. You just caught me off guard. I didn’t expect you to be so…..” he trailed off, not knowing the right word. 

“Interested? Yeah I get that a lot. I guess I just get too excited about things” he said sitting back. 

The bartender was back now and they both accepted their drinks with a smile before Sasuke turned his attention back to the blond. 

“It’s fine. I don’t mind answering your questions. You just gotta give me a second to think.” Sasuke lies. He did in fact  _ mind about answering this man, this strangers questions  _ but there was something about the blond that had Sasuke feeling calm, content.  _ How long had it been since he’d met someone who hadn’t put him on edge? His own fucking daughter put him on edge for God’s sake.  _

Sasuke tried to think back to the questions the blonde had asked from a second ago. 

“Uh, her names Sarada and I don’t know how much she looks like me but she got my eye and hair color, and she’s… uhh… 12 or 13 I think” he said, feeling more than a bit embarrassed that he couldn’t remember his daughters age.  _ Who forgets that?  _

_ Bad father’s that’s who.  _ Sasuke stirred his drink with his straw. 

“Oh! My sons 13 too! I wonder if they go to the same school, Konoha Middle?” He asked and Sasuke could only shrug in response.  _ Honestly. He’d never once picked Sarada up from school.  _

“You don’t know what school she goes too?” The blond asked, clearly confused. Sasuke shook his head. 

“No, I’m uh. I’m away quite a lot due to work, which was probably the reason for the uh” he gestured to the ring on the table and understanding flashed across the blonds face. 

“Oh, I understand. I feel like I’m at work more than im at home sometimes” he said breezily. As if what Sasuke had said wasn’t the weirdest thing ever. 

“What do you do for work?” Sasuke blurted. The blond laughed and took the bait to change the subject.  _ Bless his fucking heart.  _

“Oh I actually run and own 2 of my own businesses. One is a video game company and the other is a publishing company I inherited. It doesn’t sound like it would take up a lot of time but it does.” He laughed nervously and scratched at his whiskers. 

He took another sip of his drink and Sasuke swallowed hard as he watched the other man’s Adam’s apple bob. 

He was so concentrated on ogling the other man that he almost missed his question. 

“What about you? What do you do for a living to be in such a nice suit?” The blond asked eyeing Sasuke up and down. Sasuke felt his cheeks warm. 

“Oh. Uh. Nothing important. I’m just a homicide detective for Konoha PD” Sasuke replied. He busied himself with swirling the ice around in his cup. 

“Oh my god that’s so cool!! So do you get to like investigate murders and stuff like they do on CSI?? Have you ever seen a dead body up close?? Pfft. Never mind that last question. Of course you have. What was it like?? How long had they been dead?? Oh oh I’m rambling again. I’m sorry. Just hit me and I swear I’ll stop” the blonds face turned 6 shades of red as he finished up his ramble and he hid his face behind his glass. Sasuke found it horribly endearing and he found himself wanting to just lean over the table and kiss the blond as hard as he could. He’s almost sure that the man would taste like Tequila and cherries. 

_ Wait… kiss him?  _

Sasuke swallowed hard as he realized the blond was still looking at him with those fucking sky blue eyes and Sasuke was sure if he didn’t get away from him  _ this instant _ he’d do something they’d both regret. 

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Sasuke said abruptly, all but leaping out of the booth he ran to the bathroom. 

Once in the bathroom Sasuke locked the door and stared at his reflection in the mirror and winced

_ He looked like he’d just run a marathon.  _

Sasuke pushed his hair back continued to stare at his reflection, more specifically his left eye,  _ which he was totally blind in.  _ The iris of his left eye was milky white and the scar that ran down that side of his face glared back at him. 

_ Ugly.  _

_ “Man you could totally wear an eyepatch and be a pirate”  _

_ “You should cover that up. No one wants to see that” _

_ “Ew. What happened to your eye?” _

Sasuke leaned over the sink and splashed some water on his face. 

He looked up at his dripping reflection in the mirror once more before drying his face with a paper towel and throwing it in the trash bin. He readjusted his hair to hide his left eye once more and with one deep breath he swung open the door to the bathroom…  _ and hit something in the process.  _

“Ow ow ow, fuck that hurt” Sasuke froze at the sound of the voice.  _ The blond.  _

He was standing in front of Sasuke holding his  _ now bleeding nose,  _ thanks to Sasuke slamming the bathroom door in his face. 

“Oh god I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were on the other side. Here lemme grab you some napkins” Sasuke said hurriedly before rushing back into the bathroom and returning with a wad of paper towels which he then shoved into the blonds hands. 

“Come on, let's go get you some ice or something. Tilt your head forward so the blood will” The blond cut him off with a soft laugh. 

“This may surprise you detective, but this isn’t my first busted nose. Plus my college roommate was a med student so I’m pretty well educated on how to deal with a nosebleed.” He tried to smile at Sasuke but ended up wincing and clutching at his nose. 

“But uh yeah, let’s go get that ice” The blond added on sheepishly. Sasuke basically drug the man back over to the bar. 

“Excuse me ma’am. Could we get some ice?” Sasuke asked the bartender as politely as he could. She popped up and gasped when she caught sight of the blood soaked napkins that the blond was holding up to his face. 

“Oh my! What happened?” She asked as she retrieved a small plastic bag and filled it with ice. 

“Bar fight” the blond responded at the same time Sasuke said, “accident” 

Upon hearing the blonds response, Sasuke whipped his head over to glare in his direction and the blond had the audacity to look sheepish 

“I was standing too close to the bathroom door and he hit me with it. No biggie” he said hastily as he accepted the ice and pressed it to his face. 

“Thanks!” He said cheerfully, as if he wasn’t dripping blood all over his shirt. 

“Anyways, I should probably close out my tab while I’m up here and get going,” he said. 

“Oh. Me too I guess” Sasuke responded when she turned her attention over to him as if to ask if he  _ too  _ wanted to close his tab. 

The bartender nodded and hopped more than walked over to the computer system at the end of the bar. 

She returned pretty quickly with 2 receipts that she laid on the counter. 

The blond pulled out his wallet and then sheepishly smiled over at Sasuke. 

“Can you get my card out for me. I don’t wanna hand her a bloody debit card” he said. Sasuke nodded mutely and accepted the wallet out of his hands before flipping it open. 

The blonds license glared up at him and Sasuke couldn’t help but look. 

_ Naruto Uzumaki. 10/10/1986 _

_ So they were the same age.  _

“It’s the green bank card right there” the blond,  _ Naruto,  _ gestured and Sasuke pulled out the indicated card. 

Once they’d paid off their tabs,  _ Naruto’s was a whopping 125 dollars,  _ to which he said that he’d bought his friends drinks as well as his own, they both half stumbled out of the bar. 

“Hey. You wanna share a cab?” Naruto asked with a grin. Sasuke blinked a few times before shrugging. 

“Sure.” He replied pulling out his phone to call one. 

Naruto plopped himself down on the curb and rested his chin in his hand. After a moment’s contemplation, Sasuke followed his example and sat down gingerly next to him. 

“I really am sorry for you know.” Sasuke trailed off, gesturing towards Naruto’s bloody nose. 

The laughter that followed warmed Sasuke’s chest. 

“It’s no biggie. Like I said. I’ve had bloody noses before. Shit happens” he said once again brushing it off like it was nothing. Sasuke shook his head. 

“Still. I feel bad.” He replied. Naruto snorted and leaned heavily against Sasuke’s side. 

“You could make it up to me by giving me your name and number?” Naruto smiles lopsided and batted his eyelashes at Sasuke and just as Sasuke opened his mouth to reply the cab pulled up. 

Sasuke stood and helped Naruto up and together they both crawled into the cab. 

“Where to?” The driver asked. 

“Oak Circle Apartments” Both Sasuke And Naruto replied at once. They shared a look of disbelief. 

“No way! You too? what number?” Naruto giggled. 

“Apartment 134” Sasuke replied. Naruto snorted and shoved at Sasuke’s shoulder. 

“Get out! I’m in 130!” Naruto giggled like it was the best joke in the world and snuggled into Sasuke’s side. Sasuke tried his best not to stiffen up but it was inevitable.  _ He just wasn’t used to being touched so casually. Sakura knew better.  _ She’d snuck up behind him once and touched his arm and he’d almost broken hers. 

_ He slept in his office for 2 weeks afterwards.  _

Naruto almost immediately noticed Sasuke’s frozen state and unlatched himself, whispering a barely audible “Sorry” 

Sasuke couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the loss of contact. He wanted to tell Naruto that it was  _ okay and that he didn’t need to stop _ but his tongue wasn’t working right so he settled on pressing his arm against Naruto and bless Naruto’s fucking heart because he immediately got the message and latched himself to Sasuke’s arm once more. 

“Alright we’re here” the cab driver said while putting the car in park. Suddenly Naruto was leaning forward in between the front two seats and handing the man money, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his  _ ass was directly in Sasuke’s face.  _

Once the man was paid,  _ Sasuke insisted Naruto didn’t need to cover the whole thing but he waved him off,  _ they both climbed out of the car. 

Naruto’s nose had stopped bleeding at some point during the ride and he tossed his now melted bag of ice and bloody napkins into the garbage at the entrance. 

Sasuke followed Naruto as he stumbled to the elevator,  _ Sasuke wasn’t really any better. He could feel that rum kicking in.  _

They hit Naruto’s apartment first and suddenly Naruto stopped walking. He looked down at his shirt and gasped. 

“Awh man my shirts all bloody” Naruto whined. He stomped his feet like a kid and Sasuke found himself snorting. 

“It’s on your face too.” Sasuke replied. Naruto gasped and touched his face. 

“Oh my god. Shino is gonna beat my ass if I walk in like this!” Naruto mumbled then he grinned. 

“I’ll just tell him I got into a gnarly bar fight!” Naruto giggled raising his arms like he was in a fight. 

“With a door” Sasuke reminded him and Naruto immediately deflated. 

“Buttface. You’re the one who hit me!” Naruto whined some more. 

“Yeah and I apologized for it.” Sasuke replied. He crossed his arms and Naruto leaned with his back up against his apartment door. He started fumbling with his hands. 

“Can I tell you something??” He asked shyly, twisting his fingers together and looking away. 

“Sure” Sasuke replied. 

“Okay. Okay. You gotta promise me you won’t laugh” he said, suddenly serious. He held out his pinkie and Sasuke raised an eyebrow before he slowly lifted his hand and linked his pinkie with Naruto. 

“Okaaay. I promise I won’t laugh?” It came out like a question but apparently it was good enough for Naruto because the next thing Sasuke knew was that Naruto was pressed up against him and whispering into his ear. 

“I think you’re really cute and I wanna kiss you” he whispered. At the mention of kissing Sasuke’s brain short circuited. 

_ Yes yes yes! _ He wanted to scream, to tell Naruto that it’s all he’s been thinking about all night but Sasuke still  _ wasn’t sure. He’d never felt like this about anyone.  _

_ Would Naruto still like him if he saw the scars he hid? _

Sasuke was embarrassed to admit that it scared him. 

It was then that he realized he hadn’t replied

“What?” He asked. Naruto pulled back giggling. 

“I said I think you’re cute and I wanna kiss you” he repeated. Sasuke blinked some more. 

“Are you… are you sure?” Sasuke asked. He couldn’t believe his ears. Naruto pulled a weird face at Sasuke’s question. 

“Course I’m sure. Do you not think you’re cute?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. Sasuke swallowed and maybe it was just the rum but his face felt hot. 

He shrugged and Naruto’s eyebrows drew together. 

“Seriously?! You gotta be kidding! You’ve got to have people telling you all the time!” Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke blinked and shrugged again. 

“Not really. I mean I get some people but usually once they see my…” Sasuke realized what he was saying and clamped his mouth shut. Naruto looked even more confused. 

“See your….?” He asked, clearly confused. Sasuke looked away. 

“My left eye is all fucked up. It usually turns people off.” He trailed off, raising a hand up to cover his eye. Naruto took a step forward and suddenly there were hands on Sasuke's face. 

“Can I see?” Naruto asked gently and Sasuke nodded. He hesitantly let Naruto pull his hand away. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Naruto brush his hair back. Then Naruto pulled back and Sasuke’s anxiety spiked. 

He was hesitant to open his eyes, too worried about the look on Naruto’s face but when he finally opened him he wasn’t met with disgust like usual. Naruto just looked like he did at the bar, all soft smiles and warm eyes. Naruto rubbed at his chin and squinted at Sasuke before smiling warmly. 

“Yep. Still cute.” Naruto said confidently and Sasuke gaped. 

“Really? It’s not like…. you don’t think it’s horrific or anything??” He asked in disbelief. Naruto shook his head. 

“Nope! Not at all!” He said, rocking back and forth on his feet. Sasuke could only stare in shock. 

“Soooooooo. About the whole kinda wanna kiss you thing...” Naruto mumbled suddenly shy. He peeked up at Sasuke through his eyelashes. Sasuke blinked down at him.  _ He still wants to kiss him after this?  _

“Oh my god I’m so sorry! I forgot that you just got divorced!! You can forget I said anything! I’m sorry!” Naruto cried covering his face with his hands. 

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell Naruto that it was  _ fine, more than fine _ but he found he couldn’t, what he said instead was, “You’ll have to buy me dinner first” the response was automatic, something he responded to his best friend Suigetsu with anytime Suigetsu said anything suggestive. 

He could’ve face palmed at his own stupidity right then but then Naruto’s face lit up and he felt better. 

“So it’s not a no?” He asked, hopeful. Sasuke shook his head. 

“No. Not a no” he responded and Naruto actually  _ jumped up and down in excitement.  _

His excitement was infectious and Sasuke couldn’t help but smile at the other. 

“That means you’d say yes to going on a date?? With me??” Naruto asked. He was practically  _ vibrating with energy.  _

Sasuke nodded. 

“Yeah. Why not?” He replied. 

Naruto’s grin grew even wider. 

“Okay! Yes!! What about tomorrow evening? Say 6??!” He asked eyes sparkling. Sasuke swallowed hard. 

_ Fuck that was soon.  _

“Uh sure. Yeah tomorrow night works” he replied. 

“Yes!!” Naruto cheered then checked his watch and his eyes widened. 

“Oh shoot it’s late. I gotta go to bed soon so I can plan a super awesome date for tomorrow night!” He exclaimed palming his forehead. Sasuke couldn’t help but snort. 

“Uh. Goodnight! I’ll uh pick you up tomorrow at 6??” Naruto asked and Sasuke nodded. 

Then, Naruto creaked open his apartment door and slipped inside. 

Sasuke made his way down to Juugo’s apartment door and just as he turned the knob he heard someone hissing. He turned around and saw Naruto, half hanging out his apartment door. 

“Hey. You never told me your name!!” He whisper yelled and Sasuke found himself smiling slightly. 

He fully turned the knob and opened the door before looking back at Naruto. 

“Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha.” He responded before slipping into his own apartment and shutting the door. 

Once safely inside Juugo’s apartment, Sasuke found himself reaching up and touching his eye with his left hand once more. 

_ A date. He has a date tomorrow with a stranger who thinks he’s cute.  _

Sasuke savored his few moments of giddiness before the reality of the situation set in. 

_ He has a  _ **_date_ ** _ tomorrow night with a  _ **_stranger_ ** _ whom he knows nothing about other than his  _ **_name._ **

“Fuck me. What have I done?” Sasuke whispers to the dark apartment. 


End file.
